Murmurs and Musings
by MuseBerry
Summary: 50 prompts that revolve around Umino Iruka, Hatake Kakashi, and their relationship through the tears and the smiles. KakaIru. Partly AU. Watch out for the angst storm!


Murmurs and Musings

A/N: Welcome to my first piece involving those prompt challenges that people do. I fell in love with KakaIru (If y'all know of any amazing fics, let me know! I need to satisfy my addiction. *twitches*) and felt inspired to do my first challenge about them. A few of these might not have much KakaIru, so my bad. *sweat drops*

On another note, most, if not all, of these shorts are NOT cannon (if it was then I would have only written like three prompts). Don't take what I write on here for real either, I just got into the fandom and what I write is probably made up for the most part.

Also...I may have gone a little (read: EXTREMELY) crazy while writing and many of these shorts are depressing and angsty. I'm sorry, but that's what my muse made me do (with a gun to my head). Forgive me? *cowers*

At the bottom, there are some notes that explain some of the prompts and connects them a bit. Feel free to check those out if you're interested in learning more about a few of the ideas I had.

Pardon me for any mistakes in grammar or spelling and please enjoy everyone! *grins*

**Disclaimer:** I** am not the owner of Naruto!**

* * *

**Mistakes**

Iruka knows that telling Kakashi he loves him is a mistake, because when the silver-haired man looks at him with such remorse and sorrow, he knows that his feelings are not returned. So instead of crying like he so desperately wants to, he focuses on pretending that it was a joke, ignoring the fresh sting of rejection in his heart.

* * *

**Heartfelt**

The gift that Kakashi hands him has Iruka flushing ten shades of red before finally resulting in an embarrassed smack across the older man's head. While the jounin whines and nurses his throbbing head, Iruka stares at the bright orange Icha Icha book in his hand with lingering color tinting his cheeks. Even if his lover could be a childish pervert, he knew that the other treasured his porn books greatly, and if he was giving him one of his special edition copies, he must have been an important person to the copy-ninja.

"Now we can be book twins!" The ex-ANBU laughed with his well-known, 'eye-smile'.

* * *

**Fading Away**

He didn't have much time left, Kakashi thought as he gently held his lover's bloodied body to his chest. It was a miracle really, after the other man stopped breathing, for him to suddenly awaken. Exhausted chocolate eyes peered up at him, and it pained him to see a soft smile twist upon those abnormally pale lips. Unconsciously, he channeled more chakra to his feet and forced himself to run through the trees faster, ignoring the calls of his temporary teammates. He didn't care if he was breaking protocol. He would be damned if he'd let another precious person in his life die in his hands while he could do something about it.

* * *

**Spirit**

Although Iruka and Naruto weren't related, you'd have to be blind not to see the same spirit burning brightly in their eyes. Kakashi supposed it had something to do with being partly raised by the Third Hokage. The old man always had a way with instilling such fierce pride and love for the village in his charges. The Will of Fire. Kakashi smiled as he watched the two eat at the ramen stand from afar. It was that spirit that made him fall in love with the chuunin in the first place, so maybe he'd pay the Memorial Stone a little visit and thank the old man for shaping such a brat into a kind chuunin. His chuunin.

* * *

**Choose**

Iruka knew that if it came down to it, he would rather choose to die than to divulge any of Konoha's secret information to the enemy. So as the unknown masked ninja prowled around him with devices of torture hanging from his hands, he braced himself for a long night of pain and screams. And once the other had his fun, Iruka allowed his mind to drift off to safe thoughts of a certain silver-haired man who he was sure would burst through that door with fury in his mismatched eyes. Not soon after he passed out, an enraged jounin took out the entire base, proving to everyone in the land to never question the ferocity of the famous copy-ninja again.

* * *

**Immortal**

Neither of them would be able to live forever, and Iruka had to live with that fact. Especially with Kakashi being such a high ranked and highly efficient shinobi. If anything, his lover had the higher chance of dying out on a top-secret mission while Iruka was stuck back in the village where the most remotely dangerous thing that could happen to him would be his students throwing at kunai at him while his back was turned.

* * *

**Open Your Eyes**

"Open your eyes, Ruka." Kakashi murmured in that deep but deceptively soft voice.

And he did.

"Can you see it?" The scarecrow asked gently. "The love I have for you in my eyes...I promise you, Ruka. I will do everything I can to convince you that what I feel for you is real."

* * *

**Electrify**

Hound mindlessly shoved another chidori into the chest of a surprised enemy-nin, the young woman staring at him with chocolate eyes that mirrored the warm pools of a certain someone at the village he had sworn to protect. In that moment, in the midst of battle and blood, Hound, the heartless and emotionless ANBU, was reminded exactly of what he was fighting for.

_Iruka,_ Kakashi thought as he snapped the neck of a fleeing man,_ I'm going to come home soon..._

He returned to Konoha that night, scarlet and dried copper staining his usually pristine uniform.

* * *

**Starlight**

The stars always had a way with dragging up memories of his family, and as Iruka sat by himself on the roof of his apartment, he couldn't help but see his mother's smile in his mind. Vaguely, he wondered how the stars would shine down on Kakashi. He smiled as he imagined the tall man beside him. No doubt the light would make the jounin's silver hair glow and his black eye twinkle mysteriously. The stars always made people look as beautiful on the outside as they were on the inside. His mother taught him that, and he would never forget it.

* * *

**Sacrifice**

Iruka knew that at some point in their lives, they would have to decide between duty and desire. Instead of listening to the jounin's pleas to stop being stupid and run, he threw his lover a smile. In that smile, he emptied as much of his emotions into it. Fear, love, concern, and acceptance. They were ten miles away from the village with an important scroll clutched in the grasp of his injured scarecrow. With a quick kiss, he urged the jounin to get to Konoha as fast as his legs could carry him. Reluctantly, the copy-ninja left, and Iruka faced his enemies bravely.

Steadying his breathing, he tried to ignore how he felt like he had uttered his final goodbye.

* * *

**Honor**

Kakashi knew what honor did to a man. It built him and it broke him. Cold lifeless eyes flashed across his eyes along with crimson soaked skin and filthy silver hair. Shuddering, he tightened his grip on the slumbering chuunin beside him. Honor did marvelous things for a person, but it also caused unspeakable horrors as well. His father was proof of that, and he hoped that the foul thing would leave Iruka alone. Iruka was too warm to be dragged into the icy abyss of death that such pride caused.

* * *

**Bite**

Something wild and uncontrollable within Kakashi enjoyed the sounds that the schoolteacher made when he latched his lips onto the golden brown skin. Ignoring his lover's pleas to hurry up, he took his time to thoroughly leave marks on the smooth skin. There. Now everyone would now that the adorable younger man belonged to him and him alone.

* * *

**Commit**

There were somethings that Iruka knew that Kakashi could promise. He could promise to be smart. He could promise to be strong. He could promise to be quick. But, the one thing that the copy-nin could never promise, was the one thing that Iruka wished he could the most. As silly as it was, Iruka wanted the genius promise him his life. Unfortunately, they both knew that promises wouldn't do anything to keep someone alive, but they sure as hell could motivate them to be.

* * *

**Fake**

It had to be fake. There was no way that the Godaime would make him take up this mission, not after he had retired permanently under the agreement of the Third Hokage. He stared at the scroll in his hand with growing horror and disgust. He had a lover now! He couldn't...He wouldn't...His hands clenched around the paper tightly, and the tears trickled down his cheeks hotly. Without another word, he prepared his items and slipped the scroll into his vest. Heading to a secret compartment in his closet, he pulled out the face from his nightmares. The smooth porcelain sat in his hands, the paint depicting the face of a monster. The face that was forever ingrained into his soul.

Iruka disappeared the moment the mask slid over his face, and, once again, the hunter-nin Panther, was released to cause havoc in the world.

_Forgive me, Kakashi..._

* * *

**Tender**

Kakashi wondered how he managed to treat his little dolphin so tenderly when all he seemed to do was cause death and strife for his loved ones. His cold and detached nature robbed him of his father, friends, and mentor. He was surprised that Iruka hadn't run off, or worse, died. Sighing, he continued rubbing circles on the chuunin's back as the other rested after a long day of teaching the hellions Konoha called children. His eye curved upwards in sadistic amusement. Maybe he should give them a little taste of what it was like to be a ninja. He was sure that Iruka wouldn't mind him running the little brats to the ground with training.

* * *

**Trouble**

He knew that being in a relationship with the famous silver-haired shinobi would be dangerous, but Iruka didn't know that he would wake up in the middle of the night with someone holding a katana to his throat and threatening to disembowel him if he screamed. Iruka only rolled his eyes at the stranger's antics and glanced at his alarm clock. Great, it was two in the morning and he had class to teach at six. Maybe he should just make the kids have a 'fitness' day so he could sleep. The sharp metal prodded his neck again. Oh, yeah. Hostage, right. He should take care of it quickly so he could sleep some more.

If anyone heard anything, no one questioned the chuunin on why there were screams coming from his apartment early that morning. After all, they all valued their lives, and those screams sounded so _agonized._

* * *

**Final**

The final moments of Kakashi's seemingly never-ending isolation were spent at the Memorial Stone. He sat with his back to the gravestone, hands reaching back to lazily trace over three names that were now fading away due to his constant presence. But unlike the stone, those names would never escape from his knowledge. No. Even if their presence was forgotten by all, Kakashi would always remember. Sadly, he smiled and rested his head on the stone.

"There's this man," he murmured lowly to his deceased teammates and mentor, "who I've been talking to. You guys would love him. He's so warm...like the sun. I want more, but I'm scared to let him in. I don't want to lose him like I lost you three."

The wind ruffled his hair, and Kakashi could have sworn that he heard Obito's laughter. _"Don't be a wuss, Kakashi. You'll never lose us. Stop being an anti-social prick too. You know what, stop being a prick in general."_

Rin's voice joined in. _"What's his name?"_

Kakashi chuckled and rose his eyes to stare at a familiar brunette that was walking towards him with determination written across his face. Softly and timidly, he uttered the truth that lingered in his soul. "His name is Umino Iruka, and I think I might be in love with him."

* * *

**Waiting**

Waiting, that's what they were doing as they clustered around a pristine white bed that housed a man dear to all of them. Spiky and unruly silver hair was laying flatly on a sweat soaked face while pale lips rasped for desperately needed air. They loved him, but they were pained by the scene that met them. While they missed this weakened man before them, they did not want to see his suffering that would only end with one cure.

Death.

But as the clock ticked for him, they were surprised to see a frazzled chuunin burst into the room with terror bright in his expressive and wide eyes. "Kakashi!" The man shouted as he sprinted through them. They stared at his back curiously, wondering who this man was to their precious companion. "Don't you dare fucking die!"

Then the clock stopped, almost reversing. They saw that previously shut eyes fluttered open, and tired mismatched eyes stared into tearful chocolate ones. "I w-won't. I-I promise..."

The deceased Team Minato looked on with warm eyes, watching the unknown young man and their remaining living team member hold each other. As much as they missed the silver-haired jounin, they knew that he was happy where he was, and later, hopefully much later, he would make his way to them and introduce his meaningful brunette to them.

* * *

**Awareness**

Iruka was aware of how many people glared at him as he walked through the streets. He wasn't as oblivious as everyone believed him to be, and the whispers and taunts never fell upon deaf ears. No, he knew how jealous the other shinobi and civilians were of his relationship with Kakashi.

"_That chuunin? He's probably just using Kakashi for his rank!"_

"_I bet they're nothing more than fuck buddies."_

"_Ugh! That little slut! Kakashi should be with someone who can give him an heir."_

"_That faggot, I bet he blackmailed Kakashi. There's no way he'd be gay."_

"_What a loser. Does he think that hanging out with the copy-nin will make him better than everyone else? Disgusting..."_

Even though his skin was as tough as diamonds and his heart was as hardened as stone, he couldn't deny that those words still stung him like a dozen senbon being hurled at him. But even with all the rumors and nasty looks, every happy moment he spent with his beloved scarecrow was well worth the hurt.

* * *

**Turn Away**

There was no way that his lover just turned away from him. Not after all those years of kisses, hot touches, and claims of love and their life together. Kakashi watched the chuunin numbly, hands still outstretched for the heat that he knew the other had. There was no way he could survive without his dolphin. The younger man was the only one who could melt away the frost that consumed his body. "Ruka," he pleaded, "don't turn away from me."

Iruka blinked at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You won't let me touch you..."

Fists clenched and his lover threw his hands up in exasperation with an annoyed huff. "You're covered in blood, of course I don't want to touch you! That stuff doesn't come out right. And I especially do not want to touch you because you could be injured or in pain or poisoned...Oh no! What if you were poisoned!? Shit, let's get you to a hospital and-"

He tuned out the panicking brunette with a smile. Iruka didn't turn away from him in fear. He turned away from him in concern, because he _cared_ about Kakashi. He grimaced as he stared at his bloody body. Ugh. Blood was a pain to wash out...

* * *

**Searching**

Iruka ran faster, faster than he had ever ran before. Branches whipped at his skin, leaving behind long red gashes as reminders of his panic. Behind him, the steady thudding of footsteps made his blood run cold. It was supposed to be a simple mission, one that required him and Kakashi to infiltrate a shady organization. Within hours the entire mission went to hell, and after a considerable amount of bloodshed (_Screams. Shouts. Fire, fire eating everything and everyone. Blood painted the ground and blood painted his body. Sightless eyes stared at him with accusations written on their faces. 'You killed us. You killed us.' They weren't supposed to die. They weren't supposed to have chidori holes punched through their bodies. They weren't supposed to have gotten in the way of their mission, and now they were dead because of it.), _Iruka realized that Kakashi wasn't Kakashi anymore. He became something else, he became someone else.

He stumbled over a tree root, and that mistake was enough for his pursuer to tackle him onto the forest floor fluidly without a single hitch in his step. Foggy eyes stared down at him, the man's facial expression twisted into a cold unfeeling mask. Iruka instantly knew who he was dealing with, and a shiver ran down the column of his spine.

"Hound," he said keeping the fear out of his voice as he searched the feral man's eyes for any trace of the man he loved, "it's me, Iruka."

The cold steel of kunai was his cruel answer.

* * *

**Hands of Fate**

Fate was a heartless lady. She led many through hell and, often if not always, left them there to stew in their misery for an eternity of darkness. She fancied tragic love stories the most, but not all of them were romantic concerning two partners. Sometimes the love stories she made best were those of a deep and immortal love that bonds of blood and bonds of trust forged. And although those stories began warmly, she cherished them the most when they turned cold. Yes, she was a cruel and heartless lady indeed, she thought as she watched a silver-haired mortal weep and cry in anguish at the broken body laid out in front of him.

But rarely, she watched the fallen shinobi's once motionless chest rise and fall, was she ever so kind as to personally intervene in the lives of those unpredictable and insignificant mortals. She stared at the two lovers who had embraced in relief until the taller one whisked the injured one into his arms and vanished into the foliage of the forest.

Fate scowled. "Next time, Umino Iruka," she uttered although no one would hear, "you will be mine. No amount of love will be able to stop that."

But perhaps next time, Fate wouldn't take him alone. Perhaps next time, Hatake Kakashi would follow.

* * *

**Irresistible**

Kakashi was shameless and daring, but most of the time, he was the second greatest pervert to have ever walked the streets of Konoha since Jiraiya. So that was why, in front of his jounin comrades and several chuunins, he groped Iruka's firm and delectable ass in the Mission Room. Even after the schoolteacher gave him a thorough beating, he couldn't stop his eyes from straying to that lovely sight that teased him. If only they were in their apartment, he sighed. The things he would do to his temperamental dolphin...

"Kakashi, I swear if you don't stop staring at my-"

He gave it another squeeze.

* * *

**Easy**

Their relationship grew at a shocking rate. It was like they had known each other for a long time instead of being mutual acquaintances though a certain loud mouthed ex-student of theirs. In some ways, the intensity of their relationship was terrifying, and Kakashi was embarrassed to confess that it was all new territory for him. When he was a teenager in the prime age for dating and experimenting, he was too busy with ANBU and its emotionally scarring to even think about a girlfriend or a boyfriend. If it had been anyone else, Kakashi would've checked himself into the hospital willing to see if someone put a mind jutsu on him. Things were different with his dolphin because Iruka, even if he didn't know it himself, made things easy and sweet.

* * *

**Breathing**

Panther wasn't going to stop until every one of his targets stopped breathing. That was his mission and that was his sole purpose for existing. He wasn't fighting for his village, and he sure as hell wasn't fighting for himself. He was murdering each missing-nin because that was what they told him to do. He would do anything they asked him to. They were his puppeteers, and if they jerked his strings and ordered him to dance, he would.

But even through the haze of crimson and the smoke escaping from the burning bodies like delicate dark butterflies, his mind drifted to a smirking shinobi from Konoha. _Hatake Kakashi,_ Panther thought as he trapped another man in a genjutsu, _what are you to me, a mere puppet fit for leaving death and destruction in his wake?_

There was a reason why Iruka never wanted to put the mask on again.

* * *

**Stumble**

Iruka wasn't infallible. He was human, just like everyone else. He breathed, he ate, he drank, he cried, he laughed, he loathed, he loved, and he _lived. _He was no superhuman, and like every mortal, he had his moments of weakness. On the fifth day of him forgoing sleep in order to assist the Hokage and the Mission Room with paperwork, he had passed out like any sleep deprived ninja would have and had been sent to his apartment with Kakashi under strict orders to rest (or else the Hokage would punch him in the head and _make_ him sleep).

Even though Iruka hated being useless and not doing anything, he had to admit that snuggling lazily in his scarecrow's arms had been worth the exhaustion creeping over him.

* * *

**Fighting**

Kakashi signed for the umpteenth time, running a hand through his wet hair. "Listen, Ruka, I know you're embarrassed, but-"

"Embarrassed? I'm not embarrassed!" Came the dolphin's indignant reply. "I just don't want to shower!"

The jounin rolled his eyes. His lover had to stop being so over dramatic. They were just going to take their first shower together...naked...under a spray of hot water...with a blushing and dripping brunette. A mischievous grin stretched across his lips.

Oh, yes. He was definitely going to get his chuunin in the shower with him, even if he had to fight the younger man and wrestle him into the water.

* * *

**Closing In**

She was closing in on them and fast. How could they have underestimated the determination of an angered and overprotective woman so grossly? Kakashi clutched Iruka tightly and sent a quick prayer to the gods he wasn't sure he believed in. "Iruka," he murmured into the chuunin's ear, "if I die, promise me you'll always love me."

"Always, Kakashi." Iruka whispered back as the sound of footsteps neared their hiding spot, a small supply closet in the Mission Room.

Anko ripped the door off its hinges and gave the copy-nin a withering glare with a vicious snarl. "So what's this I hear about you dating my _little brother_!?"

* * *

**Involved**

It was too late for Iruka to back out now, he was already involved. Hell, he had been involved the moment he was born and taken to Konoha from his birthplace. Scowling, he faced his fellow shinobi who watched him with disgust and disrespect in their untrusting eyes. "Is it true, Iruka?" Genma called out from around his senbon. "Are you really not from Konoha?"

"Does that matter?" He barked. "After all that I've done for the village, the blood I've split, don't you think I've earned my place here. This is my home. I grew up here. My parents and I may have come from the Mist, but I can assure you, you'll find that I'm nothing but loyal."

From his spot in the back of the crowd, the Third Hokage smiled. _That's my boy,_ he thought to himself, _never lose your love for these people. That is what they need the most._

From his perch on the branch of a tree, Kakashi looked on with a seemingly bored expression. "Damn." He whistled quietly. "That guy sounds pissed." _But he looks super hot with that blush on his face..._

* * *

**Destiny**

Destiny was a fickle thing, Fate had to admit. They were pretty much the same thing, both parts of the same entity that embodied what will happen and what will be. That, however, was where the similarities ended. Fate wasn't kind nor was she lenient on the misfortune that she handed out to the mortals that relied on her guidance. Destiny, on the other hand, was much more forgiving and gentle. The little brat gave people _happiness_, an emotion that Fate found to be rather annoying and far from amusing. Tragedy was much more intriguing to watch. The tears, the sadness, and the guilt was just so delicious!

The day that Fate saw her twin giggling over two mortals with a bright spark in her eyes, she couldn't help but peek at the names the other had scribbled down hastily. Umino Iruka and Hatake Kakashi, eh? She should keep an eye out for those two, just in case they proved to be interesting...What did her stupid sister have in mind for them?

* * *

**Sweet**

Iruka loved sweets. Kakashi hated sweets. Their tastes were a simple demonstration about the sharp contrasts between the characters of both leaf ninja. Kakashi was the moon and Iruka was the sun. Iruka was smooth and Kakashi was rough. Kakashi was darkness and Iruka was the light. But even with their differences, both of them, complete opposites really, were still attracted to each other. And in the end, Iruka was the sweetness to Kakashi's bitterness. The other and much loved side of the same coin. You could not have one without the other.

* * *

**Calling**

Iruka's talent did not lay with explosives, traps, the 'basics', or even his hidden hunter-nin techniques or his family's forbidden signature jutsu. His talent was best used with the monsters that Konoha dared to refer to as _children_. Iruka scoffed as he untangled the paper shredding from his hair that same student thought would be fun to toss onto his head. Monsters the lot of them. Even the shy ones were secretly demons hiding underneath the surface of an adorable chubby face. They didn't even need Ibiki and his T&I team to torture prisoners, just lock them up in a room with a class of those hellions and they will _break_ so fast that T&I would be disbanded in a heartbeat.

Outside the window of the classroom, Kakashi watched Iruka carefully remove the paper from his gorgeous chestnut locks with a dazed smile on his face. Beside him, a small child pouted. "Mister, aren't ya gonna pay me? I did what ya asked me to."

"Shush." Kakashi hissed. "I'm watching him touch his hair..."

The kid rolled his eyes. Adults, why did they have to be so weird?

* * *

**Nightmare**

Faces. There were so many faces. Bloody faces. Pale faces. Blue faces. Burnt Faces. So many faces that he didn't recognize, faces that he knew he should have recognized. They watched him with blank eyes and open mouths. _"Why?"_ They moaned in unison. _"Why did you murder us? Why did you kill us? Why? Why? Why?"_

He backed away, but knew it was futile. They were surrounding him, and the smell of rotting and burning corpses wafted into his nose, a heavy scent that refused to be ignored. He gagged in disgust at the stench, desperately wanting to kneel over and throw up all of the uneasiness that overwhelmed his senses.

He took a step back and tripped over something small. He didn't think anything of it until something cold and gnarled wrapped around his ankle. Fearfully, he looked at whatever had caught him and froze. A child stared at him with large and expressionless dark eyes, despite the thick slash across her throat she spoke, blood leaking from the wound and bubbling from her lips.

"_Why did you kill me, Iruka? I didn't do anything to you..."_

He screamed.

* * *

**Flat**

When Kakashi woke up, the blankets beside him were flat and abandoned, missing a certain chuunin that cherished sleeping in on Saturday mornings when he didn't have to go to the Academy or take the early shift at the Mission Room. How mysterious...With a tired yawn, he staggered off the bed drowsily and padded to the bathroom to brush his teeth. As he gurgled his mouthwash, he smelt something delicious in the air.

Following his nose, he made his way to the kitchen and the sight that greeted him made him smile. Iruka was at the stove, frying a pan of bacon while stirring eggs in a separate pan. On the counter beside him, a pile of toast was stacked on top of each other innocently.

Surprised by his sudden appearance, the tanned man smiled. "Good morning!"

* * *

**Superstar**

He was a famous ninja in Konoha, and a legendary one out of the village. There wasn't one person, civilian or not, that hadn't heard of the silver-haired Ninja of 1,000 Jutsus. One could even argue that Kakashi was one of the most dangerous ninjas around, counting all of the rogues as well. It was this fame though, that made him wary of others. Were the people speaking to him after his friendship or after the glory? Were there people waiting for his inevitable death? How many people wanted to kill him, relish in his blood being split? How many people thought he a danger to his precious village?

If anything, he was glad that the angry scarred chuunin at the Mission Room treated him like all the other idiotic jounins. Even if the other constantly berated him and lectured him, he enjoyed the fact that someone did treat him normally and not like a celebrity or a menace.

* * *

**Spider Web**

Iruka wove his jutsus and his pranks much like a spiderweb. They were complex, but strong in their uses and their methods. He was no genius like Hatake Kakashi (who was probably reading his porn book back in their apartment waiting for him to come home), but he was a force to be reckoned with. With one teammate fatally injured and another nearly if not already depleted of chakra, he needed to step up his game until help arrived. Carefully, he surrounded his fearful companions with advanced traps rigged to deal incredible damage when in contact with the enemies' chakra.

Satisfied with his work, he whipped out several kunai with explosive tags attached to their handles. If there was one thing he was efficient at when cornered, it was making things go 'boom'. Vaguely, he noticed the slightly apprehensive look on his opponents' faces before they charged.

* * *

**Haunted**

Kakashi had originally moved into Iruka's apartment because of an excuse he blurted out the night he realized how lonely he was the place. The brunette at the time gave him a curious look, but agreed nevertheless to help the jounin move his stuff. Looking back at it, Kakashi knew there was some truth to his words that night. He still remembered what he had said.

"_Can I move in with you, Ruka? My apartment's haunted! Do you really want the ghosts to eat me?"_

His former home was haunted, but not by ghouls of any sort. It was plagued by memories of the times when he sat alone in silence as still as a statue, reliving the moments of his life that brought him sorrow and stewing in his thoughts because he was too afraid to lose someone he cared about.

* * *

**Rich**

"You're kidding." Iruka deadpanned as he crossed his arms. "You don't write man on man 'literature'." The quotation marks the scarred man used around the word literature was obvious.

"No, I'm serious! You guys will be rich if you let me use you for a new series of mine. The women will go absolutely crazy over it!" Jiraiya argued with eyes filled with a future that neither Kakashi nor Iruka wanted.

"Jiraiya," the jounin said with a relaxed smile, "I love your Icha Icha series, but you even think of putting Iruka and I into one of your novels, I will kill you."

The room was silent and the sannin gulped as he absorbed the steely expression in Kakashi's eye. "B-but the money and the w-women..."

Kakashi huffed. "I don't care about the money. I'm the only one that gets to know what a sexed up Ruka looks like!"

Said 'dolphin' gawked. "Kakashi!"

* * *

**Everybody**

Everybody knew about the relationship between the schoolteacher chuunin and the super elite jounin. That was the star couple of their gossip and their attentions. More often than not, insane rumors would float around the social circles of everyone in the village; shinobi and civilian alike.

"_I heard they like to fuck in public."_

"_Really? My best friend told me she saw Iruka top Kakashi, can you believe it!?"_

"_Some jounin said that Kakashi did the nasty with some daughter of a feudal lord on his last mission."_

"_Shut your mouth, you hoe. Kakashi would so not do that. He knows better. Not to mention Iruka would kick his ass, Konoha's strongest ninja or not."_

"_Anko says that Umino is into some kinky shit, but the crazier thing is that Kakashi _likes_ that kinky shit!"_

"_I heard that too! Anko said Iruka loves it when Kakashi shoves his-"_

"_You know, Iruka is actually a woman dressed as man. So definitely expect some little mini-Kakashis and mini-Irukas to be prancing around soon."_

"_One Kakashi is enough! And more Irukas? Gods help us all, we are _doomed!"

* * *

**Meant No Harm**

Kakashi didn't mean to harm his lover. He didn't know, he wasn't aware. After so many years of sleeping alone and living alone, he had no idea that Iruka getting up in the morning would trigger his less than ideal instincts from his days as a suicidal ANBU. As Iruka embraced him and soothed him, arms and neck bruised by Kakashi's hands, he let the tears slip down his face. Even after dating for several months, he subconsciously harmed the person he loved.

* * *

**Apple**

Iruka stretched as he stood up from his desk, eyeballing the apple that sat innocently on his desk. It was perfect really, unblemished and a bright red hue. And really, he was starving. He spent his lunch break tutoring his academically troubled students. He plucked the fruit of his desk and ripped of the note attached to the stem.

_'You're the apple of my eye.'_

He already knew who left him the little gift, and he would definitely have the thank the perpetrator later. He smirked. Possibly with more intimate methods of gratitude. Let it be known that Iruka could be as much as pervert if not more so than one Hatake Kakashi.

* * *

**Darling**

"Hm...What about honey?" Kakashi asked as he read the third Icha Icha book. The bright pink cover expressing the author's love of eccentric colors.

"No." Iruka said quickly as he shuffled through the essays his students wrote. They were all atrocious.

"Baby?"

"Nope."

"Sweetie? Babe? Sexy McSex? Mr. Nice Ass? Precious? Treasure? Darling? Hotstuff?"

"No. No. What the fuck? Hell no! No. No. Maybe. No."

"So you like being called darling, darling?" The ex-ANBU teased as he set his book down.

The brunette rolled his eyes. "Why can't you just use Ruka or something?"

"Because," the silver-haired man drawled, "that's boring and we are anything but that. Now what's my pet name, darling?"

"Pain in my ass."

"That's appropriate considering that last night we-"

"I swear, Kakashi. I will freaking..."

* * *

**Name**

There is no word, no name to call what Kakashi felt for Iruka. It was warm and pleasant, a weight that settled on his chest effortlessly and lightened whenever the younger ninja was around. It was like Iruka made things better for him, and maybe the chuunin did. The busybody had that effect on everyone he met, and Ibiki and Anko were prime examples of his ability to thaw people out. But there were times when that feathery and joyful feeling soured turning into a dreadful lead that pulled at his heartstrings in order to play a haunting melody. Those were the times when fear was fresh in his blood and he wondered if that day would be the day he would lose his last precious person.

Luckily, the terror almost always faded away and all Kakashi sensed was that _perfect feeling_ that flooded him when he saw, touched, or spoke to his little dolphin.

* * *

**By My Side**

On missions, Iruka is thankful that he rarely if ever has his lanky scarecrow by his side. He is especially grateful that Panther is never assigned missions with Kakashi. As much as he would love having his strong and graceful partner on tasks with him, he knew it was for the better that he didn't. He didn't want to worry the jounin, and he definitely did not want the other to encounter the monster that was Panther (because he knew what that would do to Kakashi, knew how it would crush him. One day Iruka would tell him when the other was ready to hear the truth).

No. He was content in having Kakashi by his side at their home in Konoha, where they could be immersed in the safety and comfort that their combined presences offered them. With Kakashi, he couldn't be a monster.

* * *

**Mountains**

Although Kakashi is a strong and skilled shinobi, he could only do so much. Many liked to believe that he was an unstoppable force that would never be subdued, never be defeated. He knew better though than to assume that. One mistake could cost him everything he cherished and cared for, and he wasn't arrogant enough to believe that he was untouchable. There was one person that he tried his best to be invincible for, and that was his gentle yet temperamental chuunin that taught Konoha's demonic brats. For Iruka, Kakashi would move mountains.

* * *

**I Know**

"I know." Kakashi soothed as he held Iruka's trembling frame. "I know, I know, I know..."

That had become their mantra the night that Iruka confessed to him about the source of the nightmares the plagued him in his mind. The shorter ninja practically broke down as he babbled something about hunter-nins, panthers, missions, monsters, murder, and blood. _"So much blood!"_ Iruka had sobbed.

The man paused in his cries and inhaled shakily. "Kakashi?"

"Yes?"

"I-I used to be...I a-am a h-hunter-nin."

"I know."

"I killed people. So many people, Kashi. I remember their blood and their faces..."

"I know."

"Kakashi," the man's weak voice cracked, "I can't stand myself. I wish I hadn't taken the missions."

He rested his head against his dolphin's head. "I know, Ruka. I know."

And Kakashi did know, he knew well what the chuunin (not chuunin. Hunter-nin, his brain reminded him) was feeling. Guilt.

* * *

**Obsessive**

"Iruka's mine. Fucking jounins, think they can take whoever they want. " The man rambled as he sat in his cell. "That fucking weakling! How dare he leave me for the gray-haired asshole! He knows that I love him. The little shit. He's probably doing this to make me jealous. Wants me to come after him and fuck his pretty little ass hard. That will show him who he belongs to. Me, because he's mine."

"Mine. Mine. Mine." Mizuki laughed hysterically as he rocked in his prison. "Iruka, I haven't forgotten about you and your little betrayal. Don't worry, I'll come after you soon. And once I have you, we'll go to that snake bastard..."

* * *

**Collide**

There worlds collided the moment that their eyes met during Team Seven's nomination to the Chuunin Exam. As much as they hated each other at that moment, neither of them could have predicted the future they would have together years later. Though, for them to be completely truthful, the collision of their worlds did nothing more than expand their horizons to new ventures they never would have pursued otherwise.

* * *

**Ink**

"Can I see your tattoo?" Iruka asked quietly as he and Kakashi laid against each other after a passionate night of making love to each other in the moonlight that leaked through the cracks of the window.

"Why?" The jounin asked, muscles tensing at the request.

"I know you hate your past as an ANBU," the brunette said softly, "but I love every part of you. Even the one that you deny the most."

The taller ninja didn't know what to say to that, so wordlessly, he turned to lay on his rest side, exposing the dark ink on his left shoulder. Iruka only leaned forwards and pressed his lips chastely against the pale skin.

"I love you, Kashi."

* * *

**Ring**

They knew this day was coming, and both of them were getting antsy by the day as the time drug on and on. Neither of them were sure how to proceed, how to force the words out of their mouths in a simple question that would result in a not so simple answer. Finally, both of them had worked up the nerve on their anniversary, the marking of another year to add to the many they spent together.

"Hey, Kashi..." Iruka started nervously.

"Ruka, I-" Kakashi accidentally interrupted the schoolteacher.

They stared at each other in embarrassment before Kakashi waved his hand. "You go first."

"No, you go first." Iruka shook his head.

Silence reigned once more before the shorter man rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Let's just go at the same time, yeah?"

The copy-nin nodded in agreement and both leaf shinobi took a deep breath.

"Will you marry me?"

"Will you marry me?"

They stared at each other in shock before slow smiles spread across both of their faces.

* * *

Notes:

03 (Fading Away) & 22 (Hands of Fate): Both prompts take place at the same time (same scene and everything!) with differing points of view.

08 (Electrify), 25 (Breathing): Those two were actually created by my silly brain as a way to kind of contrast the personalities of Iruka and Kakashi with the personalities of Panther and Hound (see my note regarding 14, 25, 33, and 46 for info on Panther). Honestly, I don't know who I would be more terrified of. The mindless and obedient Panther or the cold and calculating Hound...

12 (Bite) & 39 (Everybody): I believe that my inner pervert was released, even if just a little. I don't really talk about that kind of stuff, but I hear rumors all the time at school. (awkward blush)

14 (Fake), 25 (Breathing), 33 (Nightmare), & 46 (I Know): Fake is actually like the prequel to Breathing. Iruka gets the mission scroll in Fake while Breathing takes place when Iruka carries out the mission as Panther. I Know is the break down that Iruka has after Nightmare (which is influenced by the whole hunter-nin business). It's kind of based on a story I'm writing on the side where Iruka trained as a hunter-nin at one point.

15 (Tender) & 16 (Trouble): Oddly enough, both of these little prompt thingies talk about torturing the pre-genin with conditioning. Lol. Don't really know why. It kind of reminds me of my coach, whenever he was tired he would just make us condition for the entire day. :P.

22 (Hands of Fate) & 30 (Destiny): HoF and Destiny are related because both include some 'divine' intervention. I blame it the mythology I've been reading lately. XD.

47 (Obsessive): It is safe to say that I hate this prompt the most, because I could literally not think of anything for it that matched a somewhat angst/unhappy/twisted theme I had going on with most of the other prompts. Not to mention I felt the idea was cliché. :/


End file.
